Happy Railways Day: Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat sleeper coming soon

On April 16, 1853, the first passenger train in India departed Mumbai for Thane. That day, which saw around 400 passengers travelling in 14 carriages, has ever since been celebrated as the 'birthday' of Indian Railways. From that day, the Indian Railways has grown leaps and bounds, and its newest addition is the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, introduced in January this year for long-distance travel. The most recently announced Vande Bharat sleeper service in India is the Bengaluru-Mumbai train, which is expected to make overnight travel between the cities comfortable. 

As per reports, this will be one of the first Vande Bharat trains designed for overnight journeys. Its exact timings, schedule and fare details are expected to be announced soon. Earlier, it was reported that the train would run on the Miraj-Pune-Belgaum rail route. However, the latest reports say it could be rerouted through the Solapur-Guntakal stretch. This move has apparently led to widespread discontent among people in the Miraj area, as not enough trains are plying through there despite massive track-doubling works. 

The train is expected to take around 16 hours to cover 1,136 km, instead of the usual 24 hours. Bengaluru South MP LS Tejasvi Surya has said the train was likely to start operations by the end of July. Udyan Express is a dedicated train that currently operates between these cities.